Between the artist’s creation of the artwork and its delivery to the client there is a very delicate stage: its printing. This phase is so delicate because it can influence the esthetics and the overall quality of the finished work. 

For this reason, Cinquerosso Arte works with a printshop specialized in the production of Fine Art Prints, that is to say of the highest quality possible for the reproduction of works of art. Fine Art Printing does not describe a single technique, but rather a combination of materials, practices, and instruments that make it possible to obtain the best color rendering, the perfect texture, and the most complete range of nuances possible. However, materials, practices, and instruments are not sufficient: in fact, Fine Art Printing requires the experience and the skill of highly specialized professionals who are well acquainted with the complex interactions between support materials, inks, and machinery. 

Let us examine the latter two first. Our laboratory uses Epson printers and Epson UltraChrome XDX™ pigment ink capable of reproducing 98% of the colors certified by Pantone®. This percentage may not mean much to the layperson, but what it does mean is that there will be an abundance of colors in your artwork, and of the exact shade intended by the artist. 

Our laboratory has obtained the DIGIGRAPHIE© certification released by Epson only when certain, very rigid quality criteria are met. It thus ensures that the artworks will be printed according to the most elevated standards of the field. No less important is the choice of the support material, and in this case the human factor is decisive, because it implies the choice of the best material based on the desired rendering. Different inks react differently depending on the materials to which they are applied, which always have a hue and texture of their own. Even the light, whether it’s natural or artificial, will react with the ink-material combination generating different effects which need to be foreseen. 

This is why it is important for the experience of our staff and of our printer of choice to come together to ensure the best possible result, working in concert with the artist and bearing in mind the nature of the work itself. A photograph or a digital artwork are “born” to be reproduced, and thus the final effect is easier to predict – to a certain extent. When it comes to the one-of-a-kind, handmade works of art, an even more carefully trained eye is required to understand which may be the most effective way to reproduce them so that the print is accurate and as close to the beauty of the original as possible. 

We print all of our artists’ works on Hahnemühle paper with a grammage of at least 300 gsm. An example is Photo Rag, a 100% cotton paper among the most appreciated for the creation of Fine Art Prints.

Choose your favorite artwork or the piece that is best suited for your space, and rest assured that you’ll like it even more when you finally hold it in your hands.

Take a look on our work process.

Interferences, loss of signal, sudden changes of color, distorted images or sounds… These are only some of the small incidents – or glitches – that can happen with electronic equipment. And some people decided to turn them into art. Because machines, however close to perfection they may be, are produced by humans and are, therefore, fallible. 

As a technical term, glitch denotes the unexpected, noticeable and more or less temporary malfunction of a device. We’ve all had the experience, for instance, of a temporary signal loss while watching a movie. Glitch art, just like glitch music, transforms these random and totally unpredictable events in something aesthetically and intellectually interesting. Come to think of it, technological evolution is an exhausting search for the reduction of errors. Some machines were created with the goal of replacing human labor, raising productivity and reducing the risk of mistakes (the so-called human error). Other devices, such as TV sets and telephones, are at out service, in which case error is fought for the sake of seamless functionality.

And yet errors, malfunctions and unexpected incidents happen all the time, reminding us of our intrinsic imperfection and bursting our illusion of omnipotence. Erring is indeed human.

Examples of glitch art are found throughout most of the 20^th century and especially toward the end, when they really came into the spotlight, riding the boom of digital technologies and, consequently, of digital art.

The creative process of this particular art form consists in using a glitch, which can be either spontaneous or (more often) deliberately induced in order to achieve a specific effect, resulting into a distortion of static or moving images. When it comes to art, deformations always carry a meaning: think of the “discovery” of perspective lines during the Renaissance, which paradoxically create an illusion of realism. Or of the formal breakdown pursued by Cubism or Futurism, to mention just a few precedents. To de-form means to bring back the attention to form and therefore also to perception, forcing us to go beyond the obvious and to take up a destabilizing challenge.

This is precisely what Manuele Chan does in his Tremori: outlines are blurred and colors are shifted, in a very contemporary taste.

Life would be so boring without mistakes.

Discover the artworks by Manuele Chan

It was on July 5, 2002, that Cinquerosso opened its doors for the first time – both literally and metaphorically. In the mind of founder Francesca Fazioli, Cinquerosso was designed as an “open” space: open to influences, innovations and synergies.

But let’s start from the beginning.

Back in 2002, Francesca already had many years of experience as an art director for major companies such as Gruppo La Perla. But she felt the need to try something new, where she could express her full potential. What she had in mind wasn’t an ordinary media agency but a multifunctional, multimedia and creative space where a variety of professional talents could work together for shorter or longer periods. In the early Noughties, the now so popular concepts of co-working and hubs were still a thing of the future. But Francesca’s foresight saw the synergetic potential of such versatile and diversified spaces.

The idea to launch Cinquerosso came to Francesca during a “chat at the bar” with two old friends: the architect Francesca Lenzi and her brother Eugenio, an architect and artists. The three were the core of what in time would become a truly creative space that welcomed a long list of artists. 

The activities of the old-fashioned former industrial facility in Bologna have ranged from fashion (for instance with the Sartoria Latini in Recanati) to architecture (with the Lenzi siblings), web development (with the agency Dands, based in via Remorsella) but also design, advertisement and –last but not least – art. 

Cinquerosso can boast an impressive list of high-profile clients: Banca di Bologna, Paladini Lingerie, Galleria Forni, Terre della Rocca, Fondazione FRI, Alma Mater, Banca Popolare Valconca, Effetto Luce and, even earlier, Banor Capital, Valuepart, Visionnaire, Cerdomus, Falper, GVS, to mention just a few. A win for Francesca Fazioli, who bet on her lucky number, 5, and the color red (“cinque rosso” in Italian) for this hotbed of ideas. 

Cinquerosso Arte is one of the natural next step of a journey during which so many artists have collaborated with or at least gravitated around the company. And how better to celebrate a birthday than by diving into a new adventure?

Let’s get to know our artists 

Elena Guzzinati, Manuele Chan, Tommaso Fontana, NP and Icaro were the first five young artists to be recruited by Cinquerosso Arte. We interviewed them to get a sneak peek at the behind the scenes of their work and to find out what feeds their imagination. Let the questions begin!

If you could choose one single adjective to describe your art, which one would it be?

Elena: Mysterious. Manuele: Colourful. Tommaso: Joyful. NP: Lively. Icaro: Evocative.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking about colour?

Elena: The first thing that comes to my mind is “reality”. Reality is in colour. Which is maybe why my photographs are in black and white: they are not meant to represent reality but to reflect upon it. Manuele: Sci-fi. I think of Blade Runner, of neon lights on dark backgrounds. It’s the kind of atmosphere that I put into my works.

Tommaso: To me colour is a safe place, a familiar situation. And it makes me think of my second passion after photography: the theatre.

NP: To me it’s the expression of pure happiness.

Icaro: I immediately think of Kandinsky, because his art is truly a symphony of colours. He composed shapes and colours as if in an actual music score.

What about black-and-white?

Elena: I think of impression. Photography used to be the impression of a photographic plate. I like to think that black-and-white photographs have a similar, mirror-like effect on the beholders, making an “impression” upon them.

Manuele: I must admit that classic black-and-white photography scares me a bit. It makes me think of something gloomy.

Tommaso: To me, black-and-white is simplicity. Not because it’s simpler than colour (far from it) but because it’s more essential. Of course there are many shades of grey, but it’s not as “loud”.

NP: Nostalgia. Black-and-white images make me feel nostalgic.

Icaro: Home. I work a lot with black-and-white. It’s my dimension.

If you could take a picture of yourself at work, what would it look like?

Elena: I’d be sitting at my computer, working on graphic design projects or on my photographs. Some of them require a certain degree of processing, especially the pictures from my Whitechromo series.

Manuele: I’d be sitting at my computer since I mostly work with digital art, where you need to spend hours on end looking at a monitor.

Tommaso: I also picture myself at my computer, because I’m studying portrait photography and I’m currently looking for inspiration.

NP: Walking around the city, paying attention to every detail.

Icaro: I see myself lost in my thoughts, staring into emptiness.

What are you working on at the moment? What’s the last picture you’ve taken or saved on your computer?

Elena: I’m preparing new photographs for my Whitechromo series and also working on a new series. The last picture I’ve taken and saved is an interior of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Manuele: I’m still working on tremor and the last pictures I’ve saved are of men and women’s faces.

Tommaso: As I mentioned I’m studying portrait photography, so the last picture I’ve taken was a self-portrait.

NP: I’m working on something different, ideally telescopic photography but always in a street-art style. My last picture is a photograph of a rainbow-coloured zebra crossing against the wet black asphalt in Paris.

Icaro: My last photograph is actually a picture of me and my friends in a bar in Milan. I am working on an idea but I’d rather not talk about it at this stage.

What would you like to do later? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Elena: I see myself doing what I love, doing my job, with the same enthusiasm as today and, most importantly, happy with what I’ve accomplished.

Manuele: I see myself doing a completely different kind of art, maybe still in the field of digital art but no longer glitch because to me it’s a “young people’s” art form that wouldn’t suit an older Manuele.

Tommaso: That’s a difficult question! I would love working with portraits and staying involved in the theatre. We shall see how it works out.

NP: 10 years from now, I hope I will have found the answer to the kind of person I want to be on a personal and professional level. Right now I’m just enjoying the present.

Icaro: I would love to open a Jazz Bar where I could bring all my passions together, including art of course.  

Discover the artworks by Elena Guzzinati, Manuele Chan, NP and Icaro.

Federico Venturoli is the founder of Glam, a consulting company for the development of e-commerce in the field of fashion. In this interview he tells us how he came to partner up with the Cinquerosso Arte project, following the red thread of beauty.

Federico, what is Glam.it?

I founded Glam in 2013, shortly after leaving the YOOX Group, with the goal of creating something that stood out from other consulting companies on the market. I had over ten years of experience in the creation and management of online boutiques – for Gruppo La Perla, Furla, and finally for the YOOX Group (La Perla was the first Italian luxury brand to set up an online boutique, way back in 2000). So I was fully aware of the difference between doing e-commerce as a manufacturing company and being outsourced to do it for a company. I created Glam as a “blend” of these two sides in order to support fashion brands in the development of their e-commerce projects. The main difference from other players on the market is that we don’t just provide a consulting service but we become the company and follow the brand throughout its digital transformation process. We work both for large and small companies, always in an international perspective. This is Glam in a nutshell.

Why did you choose to partner up with the Cinquerosso Arte project?

I’ve known Francesca for over twenty years: we worked together at La Perla and have always kept in touch. I truly appreciate her aesthetic sense, her taste and creativity. I am thrilled to be involved in her project and to contribute our vertical expertise on e-commerce channels and digital marketing. Our data analysis team will be able to crunch the numbers to decide the way forward. 

Our expertise will bring new energy into Cinquerosso Arte, helping emerging artists to stand out. It complements the creative approach of Francesca and her team, and this complementarity offers the best hopes for the future. Let me add that we have something in common: we were both shaped by our shared experience in high fashion when working at La Perla.

While our partnership with Cinquerosso Arte stems from these shared experiences and our mutual trust, we believe that the project is also very interesting as such, because it targets an “underserved” market.

And yet at first glance your respective fields of activity – fashion and art seem quite different…

They are different but they both share the great theme of beauty. This is why I mentioned our common experience in high-end lingerie, where aesthetics is key, with everything it entails in terms of know-how and attention to detail and overall harmony. True fashion has a lot in common with art. And I’m not only thinking of big luxury brands: there are many small companies that express their talent and creativity through clothes and accessories, just like the artists of Cinquerosso Arte do through photographs and paintings.

I truly believe in talent because I’ve seen what happens when it is valued. After I founded Glam, for many years I was the only man working at the company: my managers are women and so is most of the team (we recently won the Women Value Company award), precisely because I’ve always selected them based on their talents and personal skills.

Yet another reason why we felt close to the project and were so thrilled to get on board.

Professional photographer specializing in still-life, portrait and furniture photography, Marcella Fierro was born in Verona. She moved to Bologna in 1993 to attend the Academy of Fine Arts, with a course of study dedicated to scenography. It is in this period that she meets photography and falls in love with it. Her professional training begins as an assistant in the advertising field, and she learns all the techniques of photography at the highest level.

Today Marcella has her own studio, collaborates regularly with communication agencies and private companies. Her artistic activity has always accompanied her commissioned work: quality and creative research are the predominant elements of her photography.

Marcella, tell us about your flowers. Why did you focus on them?

Still-life is a great passion of mine as well as a job, and flowers are among my favorite subjects. I can’t help but photograph them as soon as I happen to have them in my hands.

After all, they have always been protagonists in the history of art, both for their innate beauty and for all the symbolic meanings they carry. Just think of the fact that flowers are destined to enchant with their beauty, but only for a very short time. By photographing them, I make them last forever.

When I was involved in the Cinquerosso Arte project, I immediately thought of my flowers as artworks to be proposed. I believe that they lend themselves well to Cinquerosso Arte’s mission, that of bringing beauty into people’s lives. What is more beautiful and pleasant to look at than a flower?

I then liked the idea so much that I started making photographs of flowers specifically for Cinquerosso Arte.

In addition to the actual flowers, you also photograph your compositions. Here there is a double creative process …

Yes, I really like to combine different objects, materials, colors. It is precisely the essence of still-life. It is not at all trivial to photograph different materials which, for example, react to light differently. This challenge is also what makes this type of work interesting. My floral compositions are an evolution of my passion for still-life: combining different materials in harmonious shapes.

How do you make them so “vibrant”?

First of all, I photograph all my flowers in my studio, with total control of the light. I choose every aspect, from the color of the background to the type of lighting, the direction, the contrast, in order to determine exactly the atmosphere I have in mind.

In short, I don’t limit myself to photographing the flowers, but I interpret them. I try to make their beauty stand out at its best, but at the same time I make them “mine”. For example, just think how much a flower changes with a soft light that smooths out the shadows and a more intense one that creates strong chiaroscuro. Or the difference between a more delicate pastel background and a black background that creates a very theatrical atmosphere. Maybe the flower is the same, but it gives very different emotions. This is the essence of my work.

Discover the artworks by Marcella Fierro

The owner and Art Director of the media agency Cinquerosso, Francesca is the mind behind the project Cinquerosso Arte and the heart that feeds it with contagious enthusiasm.

Francesca, how did you get the idea for Cinquerosso Arte?

The project took shape gradually but the initial intuition was born from my contacts with the creative talents I collaborate with. They would show me their work, sometimes asking me for advice, and I would often think: “This is a great piece, there should be a market for it”. The family I grew up in was quite ordinary but they had a passion for literature, theatre and especially art. My parents passed on this passion to me. Today, on the one hand you have commercially successful art, which requires a considerable investment, and on the other a huge proliferation of images that are affordable but “mass-produced”. It’s a bit like fashion, with high-end fashion on the one hand and fast fashion on the other. Emerging artists struggle to stand out, and that’s a shame because there are some truly great talents out there. All of these considerations led me to ask myself: can we find a place where talented but little-known artists and potential art buyers on a limited budget can meet?

And the answer was an art e-commerce platform…

Exactly. E-commerce provides access to a very wide audience, has all the tools of digital marketing and therefore allows us to present our artists in their best light. It is also quite convenient for the buyers, who can look at the pieces, take their pick and place their order at any time, without ever leaving their home. But Cinquerosso Arte is more than a commercial strategy. We like to think of it as a true place of encounter between talented artists and people who are looking for something different from your usual poster. A concrete, albeit digital space to meet your needs for beauty.

Do you think that people need art?

More than that: I think they have a right to it. I firmly believe in the importance of being surrounded by beautiful things that touch our heart and make us think – or dream. And choosing an art piece is also a way to express your personality and style. This is why we also offer consulting services to private and professional clients as well as businesses.

What do these consulting services consist of?

It’s actually quite simple. It can happen that a professional, maybe an interior designer, needs to complete a project with some art that integrates with the overall aesthetics. In this case they can either purchase it directly from the Cinquerosso Arte website or ask for more specific help. We analyse their needs and figure out which pieces, whether already available on our website or underway, best fit their needs. This also applies to businesses, for instance a restaurant or a B&B, as well as to private clients who are furnishing their home. Whatever the case, we are here to ensure that the right piece meets the right person. To conclude, I strongly believe in Cinquerosso Arte and I hope that it will help young artists express their talent and enrich the life of many people.

From 13 to 15 May Bologna will host the 45th edition of Arte Fiera, the most important fair for Italian art galleries. A myriad of initiatives will surround the event, including the launching of Cinquerosso Arte.

When Arte Fiera comes to Bologna, it doesn’t go unnoticed! The fair, which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, is one of the most prestigious and unmissable events dedicated to Italian art galleries. What is more, the actual fair is at the heart of a number of collateral events that transform the city into an extra muros exhibition space with a series of encounters and special initiatives. During these days, Bologna is brimming with artists, gallery owners, art lovers and enthusiasts; you can breathe art at every corner and it’s just impossible not to be carried away by the city’s creative outburst.

Arte Fiera is structured into several sections. The Main Section, open to the public, brings together the selected participating galleries, which in turn present a limited number of artists. The accompanying sections Focus, Pittura XXI, and Photography and Moving Images explore every year a variety of topics, movements, periods as well as specific artists and expressive media. Art City begins a few days before Arte Fiera, on 7 May. It is also articulated into a Main Programme and a great number of events organised around the city. The initiatives are too numerous to list them all. Follow the hashtags #artefiera2022 and #artefiera to keep up to date.

What better opportunity to launch the Cinquerosso Arte website than in this bustling creative atmosphere? Bologna is where our project was born, and it seemed fitting to launch the website during such an important event. Art is a welcoming field where everyone can find their place, from internationally renowned artists to young emerging ones. After all, it’s all about emotions, interpretations and messages reaching out to different audiences through different languages. We are thrilled to do our bit for the “democratization” of art.